Diving towers

ABSTRACT

This invention concerns a diving tower, adjustable in height and operated by means of a hydraulic ram assembly, said ram assembly being powered by pressurized fluid within annular chambers of compression which vary the height of the diving board. The said annular chambers of compression are formed by the space between two coaxial cylinders, or a plurality of coaxial cylinders, of different diameters, and thus, permit a reduction in the surface areas to which the hydraulic force is applied while at the same time permitting the selection of larger cylinder diameters as needed for rigid cylindrical lifting rams. Since the active surface areas are the top annular areas and not the cylinder areas, the size of the said cylinders may be increased in order to present a greater bending moment without requiring additional fluid to maintain a reasonable operating speed. A platform for the diving tower is attached to the lifting ram cylinder, and a fulcrum roller is supported by a sliding frame engaged on dovetail tracks, said dovetail tracks being fastened to said platform. Said sliding frame, in order to permit variations in the location of the fulcrum point of the diving board, is positioned by means of a standard hydraulic cylinder. A special ladder is attached to the platform and said ladder is composed of two uprights with removable, lift-out steps. Said steps are supported by the uprights without being permanently fixed and are free to slide and lift out of grooves made within said uprights in order to avoid accidental injuries or damage to the said ladder. A counterweight is located at the back end of said platform and reacts against the diver&#39;&#39;s downward push that would otherwise cause an excessive bending stress to the lifting rams. A protective cage is also added around the ladder, below ground level, and inside said cage a set of guide rollers or cushions is fixed to act as guides for the ladder uprights which may be moved up or down, and also to absorb a shock or force in any direction other than the one in which the lifting rams and the ladder have to move.

States Patent 1191 Avon 1 1 DIVING TOWERS [76] Inventor: Urbain Avon,5671 des Plaines Ave., 410, Montreal, Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: May 5,1971 [21] Appl. No.: 140,330

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct, 7, 1970 Canada 095091 [52]U.S. Cl. 272/66; 92/52; 92/53; 254/93 R [51] Int. Cl. A63B 5/10 [58]Field of Search 272/66, 69, 57 R, l C;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,032,708 3/1936 Mallon272/1 C 2,356,899 8/1944 Stutter.... 92/108 2,666,417 l/l954 Harsch....92/107 X 2,961,837 11/1960 Suderow 254/93 R X 2,975,857 3/1961 Suroff etal 182/166 3,092,383 6/1963 Dunn 272/66 3,276,547 10/1966 Muller et al.254/93 R X 3,279,755 10/1966 Notenboom et a1. 254/93 R 3,372,927 3/1968Rude 272/66 3,563,540 2/1971 Hopfeld. 272/66 3,622,124 ll/l97l Sidles254/93 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 407,093 lO/l970 Australia254/93 R 1,511,338 12/1967 France 272/66 726,891 10/1942 Germany 272/66646,883 ll/l950 United Kingdom..... 272/66 154,965 7/1943 Netherlands272/66 644,774 7/1962 Canada 272/66 784,510 5/1968 Canada.. 92/1081,511,338 12/1967 France 272/66 Primary E.raminerRichard J. Apley 5 7ABSTRACT This invention concerns a diving tower, adjustable in heightand operated by means of a hydraulic ram assembly, said ram assemblybeing powered by pressurized fluid within annular chambers ofcompression which vary the height of the diving board. The said annularchambers of compression are formed by the space between two coaxialcylinders, or a plurality of coaxial cylinders, of different diameters,and thus, permit a reduction in the surface areas to which the hydraulicforce is applied while at the same time permitting the selection oflarger cylinder diameters as needed for rigid cylindrical lifting rams.Since the active surface areas are the top annular areas and not thecylinder areas, the size of the said cylinders may be increased in orderto present a greater bending moment without requiring additional fluidto maintain a reasonable operating speed. A platform for the divingtower is attached to the lifting ram cylinder, and a fulcrum roller issupported by a sliding frame engaged on dovetail tracks, said dovetailtracks being fastened to said platform. Said sliding frame, in order topermit variations in the location of the fulcrum point of the divingboard, is positioned by means of a standard hydraulic cylinder. Aspecial ladder is attached to the platform and said ladder is composedof two uprights with removable, lift-out steps. Said steps are supportedby the uprights without being permanently fixed and are free to slideand lift out of grooves made within said uprights in order to avoidaccidental injuries or damage to the said ladder. A counterweight islocated at the back end of said platform and reacts against the diversdownward push that would otherwise cause an excessive bending stress tothe lifting rams. A protective cage is also added around the ladder,below ground level, and inside said cage a set of guide rollers orcushions is fixed to act as guides for the ladder uprights which may bemoved up or down, and also to absorb a shock or force in any directionother than the one in which the lifting rams and the ladder have tomove.

3 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures I US. Patfint S ept. 30,1975 Sheet 2 of43,908,988

Fig. 6

US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 3 of4 3,908,988

DIVING TOWERS DESCRIPTION The present invention is about anadjustable'diving tower whose lifting assembly is composed of hydrauliccylinder rams, actuated by means of pressu ri'zed fluid within annular.chambersof compression, which vary the height of the diving board.

Diving boards of adjustable height have already been constructed in thepast, but these were operated either by a regular jack screw or by ahydraulic ball screw, or else by a piston whose entire cross sectionareawas used to operate the lift. In the latter, the said crosssection arearequired a large flow of hydraulic fluid and an oversized pump in orderto obtain a reasonable operation speed.

In one prior art deviceregarding adjustable diving towers Mr. AntoniusWilhelmus Notermans, of the Netherlands, Pat. No. 54965, presentsa framesupporting the diving board, said diving board being lifted along saidtower by means of a cable, said ,cablerolling on a drum actuated by amotor or operated by hand. In this same prior art device, acounterweight is also used, but only to counterbalance the weight of thediving board frame being lifted. By contrast, in my present inventionthe lift is operated by a hydraulic lifting ram assembly instead of acable, and the counterweight is not used at all to counterbalance theweight of the lifting frame and diving board, but to compensate for thedownward push of the diver when he jumps from the diving board. I

SUMMARY OF TI-IEINVENTION Reference to Drawings The inventive idea whichthis new article embodies, and the way it overcomes the difficulties andinconveniences of previous devices or proposalsis to'use at least one,or a plurality of annular chambers of compression. v

In the drawings which illustrate embodiments of my invention:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, partly in section, of the adjustablediving tower; I

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view, partlyin section, showing (a)theplatform fixed at the top end of the cylinder rarn, (b) the slidingframe supporting the fulcrum adjustment roller, together with (cthedovetail tracks which support the sliding frame, and finally (d) thetwo guard rails;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of one of the twominiature control valves, asset inside one of the, two guard rails;

FIG. 4 is a partial side view of the special ladder with lift-out steps,one of the two uprights being sectioned and one of the steps beingomitted to show clearly the I grooves in which the ends of the stepsrest over the bot- FIG. 7 is'a schematic view of two alternative assem-,

blies, (a),one for a remote control unit to operate the liftingmechanism, and (b) one for flexible hoses used as pressurized fluidlines;

is-a schematic view of the standard pressurization unit and 'itsconnections to thesupply and return- 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG.1 shows the annular chambers of compression 6 forming the creative ideaof this invention. The said annular chambers of compression, existingbetween cylinders 2 and 3 and between cylinders 8 and '2 are closed attheir lower-end by seal rings 5 attached tothe inner'wall of theexternal cylinders 2 and 8 of saidannular chambers, said seal rings 5forming the bottom of each annular chamber of compression. The upper endof same annular chambers of compression 6 is closed by seal rings 7attached to the external wall of the inner cylinders 2 and 3 of eachannular chamber of compression 6, and said inner cylinders 2 and 3 areused as two telescoping rams to move the diving board platform 12 up anddown, said platform supporting the diving board 17. The diameters of thedifferent cylinders 2, 3, and 8 forming this lifting unit may be aslarge as necessary to ensure rigidity without thereby requiring, due totheir respective diameters, a large flow of pressurized fluid, since theworking cross section area is the area of the annular chambers ofcompression 6, equaling the differential of the cylinder areas, and maybe kept constantQThe upward movement of said cylinders 3 and 2 islimited by stop rings 9 attached at the upper end of the inner wall ofthe external cylinders 2 and 8 of each annular chamber of compression 6.A protective shield 1 is attachedto the lower endof the outer cylinder 8in order to avoid any foreign matter entering from underneath. Thepressurized fluid flows to or from the annular chambers of compressionwithin a slave tube 29 attached to the inner wall of the interiorcylinder 3, and fixed at the inlet orifice 30 which pierces through saidcylinder 3 just underneath said upper seal ring 7 which is attached tosaid sylinder 3. Another inlet orifice 33 pierces through the middlecylinder2 just underneath the upper seal ring'7 which is attached tosaid middle cylinder 2. l

A special, mobile ladder assembly, ,FIG. land FIG. 4, is fixed at theback end of the platform 12, said platform moving up and down with thecylinder rams 2 and 3. Both ends 37 of each step 22 of said mobileladder assembly rest on the bottom face 35 of grooves 23, said grooves23,being. part of each upright 21, and said step ends 37 are free toslide and lift out of said grooves 23 when said step comes in contactwith a foot or any object placed underneath said step while the ladderassembly moves downward together with the platform 12 to which saidladderassembly is attached.

A good .diver may develop a downward push equaling many times his ownweight .when he jumps from the I diving board. In previousart devicesthe torque which of the platform, opposed to the ,diver, firmly to theground. In my'invention, the platform 12 moves upand i downand it is.obvious thatsaid platform cannot be fixed to the ground; so, in order toovercome said torque the .backend of said pIatforrnis formed by.

means of a heavy plate 20 which together with the ladder assembly form acounterweight located behind the supporting ram in order to partiallycompensate for the divers downward push. The lower part of the mobileladder is surrounded, below ground level 31, by means of a cage 25mounted on a structural steel support 28. Said structural steel supportis welded or bolted together to form an angle iron assembly 28, orequivalent, and is used as a base member fixed to the lower end of theouter cylinder 8, said lower end being embedded in a concrete foundationblock 32. Said cage 25 is equipped with a detachable cover 24 forservicing, and within said cage, rollers 26 or cushions are mounted onsame structural steel support 28 in order to stop the ladder assemblyand platform 12 from moving in any direction other than the one in whichthe lifting ram is moved.

A standard pressurization unit 39 FIG. 1 and FIG. 8, motor energized, islocated away from the diving tower. Two pressurized fluid lines, one forthe supply 40 and one for the return 31, connect said unit to the divingtower. Said fluid lines are made of materials having electricalinsulation properties to avoid any electric charge being carried to thediving tower. The connections for said pressurized fluid lines to thediving tower are made near ground level 31, inside the cage 25 throughpipes 27. Said pipes 27 are connected at their other ends to twoseamless tubes 42 near the bottom of the outer cylinder protectiveshield I. Said seamless tubes 42 are fixed to the outer cylinderprotective shield 1 and form the lower members of two telescoping fluidassemblies wherein seal blocks 4 slide over said seamless tubes 42. Saidseal blocks 4 are fixed to upper members or pipes 43 leading to the mainlifting valve 10. Said main lifting valve is hydraulically operated. Twoauxiliary fluid lines 11, one for the supply and one for the return, areconnected to said pipes 43 near said main valve 10 and feed a miniaturecontrol valve 14 which actuates the main lifting valve 10 by means ofhydraulic fluid lines 46. Two other auxiliary fluid lines 44 are alsoconnected in a similar way to feed a second miniature control valve 14which actuates the fulcrum adjustment cylinder 18, described hereafter,by means of hydraulic fluid lines 45. These two said control valves 14are located separately in each of the two guard rails 19 where they canbe manually operated with control levers 38.

The platform 12 is attached to the lifting ram assembly at the top endof the inner cylinder ram 3 by means of a bolted adapter ring 36. Thesaid fulcrum adjustment cylinder 18, refered to herebefore, is fixed ontop of said platform 12 to drive and firmly position a sliding frame 16,guided and retained by dovetail tracks 13 fastened to the platform 12.The fulcrum location of the diving board 17 is varied by means of aroller supported and positioned by said sliding frame 16.

An alternative to the telescoping fluid assemblies previously describedis shown in FIG. 7 wherein said seamless tubes 42 are connected by meansof flexible hoses 47 to the auxiliary fluid lines 44 of the miniaturecontrol valve 14 which actuates the fulcrum adjustment cylinder 18.Another alternative arrangement is also shown in FIG. 7, wherein amanually controlled main valve 48 operating the lifting assembly islocated at a distance from the diving tower and out of reach of thedivers. The inlet orifice 34, for the fluid coming from thepressurization unit, pierces through the outer cylinder 8 and is locatedjust over the lower seal ring 5 of the annular chamber of compression 6formed between cylinders 2 and 8. The previous inlet orifice 30 shown inFIG. 1 is omitted in said alternative arrangement, and the twotelescoping feed assemblies, supply and return, with seal blocks 4 asshown in FIG. 1, or the alternative flexible hoses 47 shown in this sameFIG. 7 will serve only the supply and return lines of the miniaturecontrol valve 14 actuating the fulcrum adjustment cylinder 18. The othercontrol valve 14 and the main valve 10 are herein omitted and replacedby said manually controlled main valve 48.

I claim:

1. In combination, a height adjustable diving tower assembly comprising:

a. a diving platform including guard rail means attached thereto andupwardly extending therefrom;

b. a dove-tailed shaped track fixed to the forward portion of the uppersurface of said platform, a frame having a correspondingly shapeddove-tailed lower surface slidably mounted on said track and supportinga roller thereon, a hydraulic cylinder fixed to said platform andoperatively connected to said frame, a diving board fixed at one end tosaid platform and with another portion thereof resting atop said roller,said frame, roller, and hydraulic cylinder providing the fulcrumadjustment for said diving board;

c. counterweight means fixed to said one end of said platform in orderto compensate for the downward force caused by a dive, saidcounterweight means including a weight plate and ladder means;

d. a pressurized fluid lifting assembly comprising a first hollow, rigidcylinder attached to the bottom surface of said platform and extendingdownwardly therefrom, at least one additional rigid cylindertelescopically positioned over and concentrically spaced from said firstcylinder, each of said additional cylinders having an annular stop ringfixed to its upper inner surface, a pair of annular seal ringsinterfitted between adjacent cylinders, each of said pairs comprising anupper seal ring fixed to an innermost adjacent cylinder and alongitudinally spaced apart lower seal ring fixed to an outermostadjacent cylinder, the space between said upper and lower seal ringsconstituting an annular chamber of compression for receiving pressurizedfluid therein, each of said annular chambers of compression beingoperatively related to each other by openings formed in adjacentcylinders and with one cylinder being imperforate;

e. means providing pressurized fluid to said lifting assembly; and

f. said guard rail means including control valve means for controllingsaid pressurized fluid means and said hydraulic fulcrum cylinder.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said ladder meansinclude two uprights, each of said uprights having a plurality of spacedapart grooves formed on the inner surface thereof, and steps removablylocated on said uprights wherein each step has its ends engaging saidupright grooves.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said ladder meansfurther includes guides engaging said uprights for preventing lateralmovement of said uprights during height adjustment of said divingplatform.

1. In combination, a height adjustable diving tower assembly comprising:a. a diving platform including guard rail means attached thereto andupwardly extending therefrom; b. a dove-tailed shaped track fixed to theforward portion of the upper surface of said platform, a frame having acorrespondingly shaped dove-tailed lower surface slidably mounted onsaid track and supporting a roller thereon, a hydraulic cylinder fixedto said platform and operatively connected to said frame, a diving boardfixed at one end to said platform and with another portion thereofresting atop said roller, said frame, roller, and hydraulic cylinderproviding the fulcrum adjustment for said diving board; c. counterweightmeans fixed to said one end of said platform in order to compensate forthe downward force caused by a dive, said counterweight means includinga weight plate and ladder means; d. a pressurized fluid lifting assemblycomprising a first hollow, rigid cylinder attached to the bottom surfaceof said platform and extending downwardly therefrom, at least oneadditional rigid cylinder telescopically positioned over andconcentrically spaced from said first cylinder, each of said additionalcylinders having an annular stop ring fixed to its upper inner surface,a pair of annular seal rings interfitted between adjacent cylinders,each of said pairs comprising an upper seal ring fixed to an innermostadjacent cylinder and a longitudinally spaced apart lower seal ringfixed to an outermost adjacent cylinder, the space between said upperand lower seal rings constituting an annular chamber of compression forreceiving pressurized fluid therein, each of said annular chambers ofcompression being operatively related to each other by openings formedin adjacent cylinders and with one cylinder being imperforate; e. meansproviding pressurized fluid to said lifting assembly; and f. said guardrail means including control valve means for controlling saidpressurized fluid means and said hydraulic fulcrum cylinder.
 2. Thecombination according to claim 1 wherein said ladder means include twouprights, each of said uprights having a plurality of spaced apartgrooves formed on the inner surface thereof, and steps removably locatedon said uprights wherein each step has its ends engaging said uprightgrooves.
 3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said laddermeans further inCludes guides engaging said uprights for preventinglateral movement of said uprights during height adjustment of saiddiving platform.